Eaten Ch.63

Chapter 63: “You’re nothing but a traitor”

Wu Heng also wanted to say a few words like Shang Moli before making his move.

He just hadn’t thought of anything yet.

The moment strength surged into his palm, a streak of gold swept out from the woman’s abdomen. Wu Heng clearly felt the skin beneath his hand harden instantly.

Before he could react, Shang Moli’s hand, which had been hanging by her side, clenched into a fist—and she drove it straight into the boy’s stomach.

Wu Heng’s body was flung backward, but the vines on his back spread out midair, catching him before he hit the ground.

When he landed, he lifted his gaze toward Shang Moli.

The woman’s entire body glimmered with gold. She traced her fingers over the half-ring of purple bruises on her neck and spoke in a hoarse voice, “You can fight hand-to-hand?”

“No.” Wu Heng’s tone was calm. He simply wasn’t afraid to die.

Shang Moli gave a soft laugh. There was even a flicker of admiration in her eyes.

“Nanxiu Base is recruiting ability users on a large scale. You should think about coming with me. Two ability users together can negotiate better treatment, you know.”

Nanxiu happened to be the next city they would pass through.

But—what exactly was a “base”?

Wu Heng hid the confusion in his eyes and said, “No need.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the vines beneath his palm transformed once more into blades. He didn’t move from his spot—yet blades rose from the ground, slashing toward the woman in the blazing red dress.

Clang—!

The instant the blade touched the top of her head, a deafening metallic crash rang out.

Hearing it, Ruan Silian immediately covered Wu Zhi’s ears.

The echo rolled and trembled through the mountains, startling flocks of sparrows into flight.

Lin Mengzhi, melting the snow beneath his feet, found that the anger he once felt over his teammate dying inside the wolf’s belly had, without him noticing, turned into a weary sigh of acceptance—everyone had their fate.

And just as they were several miles beyond the village, a faint yet jarring metallic impact came from afar. Before Dou Lu could even activate her detection ability, the snowy forest nearby began to tremble for no apparent reason.

The forest rustled. Lin Mengzhi hurled a fireball toward the source of the sound, melting piles of snow that came dripping down in sheets.

Bang—!

A dark shape leapt onto the trunk of a giant tree, leaving deep claw marks behind.

“Zhao Mingxiang!” Zhao Rui recognized the eyes and charged forward. “Don’t you f*cking run!”

But the gray wolf hadn’t planned to run at all—it was clearly coming straight for them. Its bestial breath grew closer; then it sprang out from the trees, eyes glinting with pain. Xie Chongyi grabbed Zhao Rui’s arm and flung him backward. The gray wolf slammed into an invisible wall of air, was thrown off its feet, and crashed into a tree, blood spilling between its teeth.

Lying on its side, the gray wolf panted heavily. It found Zhao Rui and Aunt Wang with its gaze, then shut its eyes for a brief moment.

“Auntie, that’s Zhao Mingxiang—it’s him!” Zhao Rui shouted, running toward the wolf.

Aunt Wang gripped her hatchet so tightly her knuckles turned white. Her lips trembled; she couldn’t bring herself to believe that this massive beast in front of her might be her own son.

Zhao Rui didn’t bother thinking it through. “Come on—hurry! Change back! I’ll carry you home. If you know you were wrong and make it right, that’s the best thing you can do.”

The gray wolf looked at him, lifted its head with effort, and rasped, “Why are you… here?”

Lin Mengzhi snapped back to focus. “Why wouldn’t we be? Your pack killed our teammate. We came to settle the score. Meeting you here—perfectly fair, perfectly reasonable.”

“Pack?” Zhao Mingxiang stood up fully now. His cold gaze swept across them. “I wasn’t with the wolf pack.”

“The wolf pack is already in the village.”

Before the words had even faded, Lin Mengzhi’s breath hitched sharply. “Sh*t—then A’Heng—!”

He didn’t hesitate—he grabbed Xie Chongyi by the shoulders, desperate. “Class Monitor! Save my childhood friend one more time!”

Xie Chongyi’s pupils constricted.

In front of him, the gray wolf nudged Zhao Rui aside with its snout. “Mom, you and Zhao Rui—don’t go back to the village. This is my mess. I’ll handle it myself.”

With that, its throat tightened, fur bristling. The huge form vaulted up into the treetops—and within moments, it was gone from sight.

—

Wu Heng hated insects.

And he hated metal-type ability users.

Although Du Yaoyuan was also a metal-type ability user, he was nowhere near this she-wolf’s level.

Shang Moli not only wielded her ability with great proficiency and versatility—she was also an expert at ambushes, and her movements carried the natural agility of a mutated beast.

—Shang Moli’s hair whipped in the wind as she toyed with the broken vine in her hand, watching it writhe and twist. Suddenly, her five fingers clenched tight, and a stream of green, pulp-like fluid seeped through the gaps between them.

Before she could even comment on it, a vine as supple as a snake coiled around her waist. Wu Heng leapt up and slammed his fist into her cheekbone. Clang!

The shock numbed half his body.

Though Shang Moli didn’t feel pain, the force still sent her staggering two steps backward. When she turned her head, the green tip of a blade was less than half an inch from her eye.

Wu Heng’s gaze darkened. Not a shred of pity stirred in him for that striking, seductive face—his blade drove straight through her eye.

Agonizing pain burst outward from the wound. Shang Moli struck back, her fist slamming toward Wu Heng’s chest, but his vines reacted with lightning speed, blocking half the impact.

Both of them fell to the ground at once. Ignoring the pain spreading through his chest, Wu Heng rolled twice across the dirt and sprang to his feet again.

Countless vines erupted from the ground beneath Shang Moli’s feet.

Before forming a symbiotic bond with Wu Heng, the poppy flower had never possessed a normal plant’s mind—it spent its days sprawled in the flower fields, feigning harmlessness, waiting to drag down unsuspecting passersby for food.

Now, its will and Wu Heng’s had become one. It even carried his personal intent.

If Wu Heng wanted to attack, it would never retreat.

Even with one eye injured, Shang Moli’s combat power hardly diminished. Her golden spear split into two heavy blades, each swing slicing through hundreds of vines.

But what disgusted her most was this—even the severed vines were still alive.

The moment they hit the ground, they took root and sprouted again.

It felt as though she was only helping them grow faster.

The vines that sprouted grew thicker at their roots, their color darkening until the bright green faded away. The dense tangle spread so wide that it became impossible to tell whether they were still in the village—or already deep in a jungle.

Riiip—

A vine behind Shang Moli split open, tearing a long gash through its length. She turned around—and met the gaze of the pale, ghost-like boy.

Wu Heng raised his blade. Shang Moli gritted her teeth and spun sharply on her heel.

The mutated wolf lunged toward Wu Heng with a vicious snap of its jaws.

The vines folded together—and in the next instant, Wu Heng’s figure reappeared on a flat stretch of ground some distance away.

“Brother!” Wu Zhi clutched the cage in her arms. “Stop fighting! Let’s hide together—wait for Mengzhi and the class monitor to come back! You’re hurt!”

The mutated wolf was charging at him, its coarse fur rustling and clattering like metal. Golden eyes burned with killing intent.

The vines struck out from behind it with all their might, but the wolf saw nothing else—only Wu Heng.

It had to kill him—kill this loathsome, terrifying enemy before he could grow.

Then—a wolf’s howl rang out, one that did not belong to this place.

Just as Shang Moli leapt to pounce on Wu Heng, a gray blur flashed across his vision. His blade struck empty air—and Shang Moli was slammed to the ground by a mutated wolf that had appeared out of nowhere.

The two beasts, nearly identical in size, tore into each other the moment they hit the ground. Snarls and roars overlapped endlessly, and in their struggle, one house after another was crushed to rubble. The forces of earth-type and metal-type abilities raged amid the chaos, reducing the village almost entirely to ruins.

“You betrayed the pack!” Shang Moli sank her teeth into the other wolf’s back, snarling the words like a curse.

The gray wolf twisted its body, front claws slamming down on Shang Moli’s skull. Then it lifted its head and clamped its jaws around her neck, shaking her violently.

“I’m human,” Zhao Mingxiang panted, his breath rough and ragged.

“Human? That’s not for you to decide.”

Shang Moli let out a cold laugh—and thrust her claws straight into the wound Wu Heng had left in Zhao Mingxiang’s abdomen.

Wu Heng narrowed his eyes, and the vines whipped forward—twisting tightly around Shang Moli’s forelegs.

Crack.

Zhao Mingxiang froze for a moment, then clamped down hard with his jaws, sinking his teeth into Shang Moli’s throat and forcing her to the ground.

The she-wolf writhed, limbs thrashing, blood bubbling from her mouth—yet even in that state, she didn’t forget to mock him.

“You think killing me will make them forgive you? Accept you? Keep dreaming. Not just them—the villagers here, your mother, that person you like—they’ll all see you as a freak, a murderer. Ha… haha.”

Her tail flicked lazily. “I told you long ago—even if you stayed in that village, your secret would come out eventually. And now, isn’t that exactly what’s happened? So go on, kill me. What difference will it make?”

The gray wolf pressed a paw down on her back, jaws locked deep around her throat. Blood streamed steadily from the wound. Her words made his gaze flicker—just for an instant, hesitation clouded his eyes.

And in the next second, when he finally decided to bite down harder—

Shhk—!

The alpha wolf’s forepaw suddenly plunged into his chest. A pale yellow energy core gleamed in her claws.

She had been watching Wu Heng out of the corner of her eye the whole time. Just before the vines could reach her, she clenched her claws tight—the energy core crumbled to dust in her grip.

The gray wolf’s massive body crashed heavily to the ground.

Shang Moli clutched her bleeding neck and lay sprawled on the dirt. She turned her head slightly, eyes half-lidded, looking at the dying gray wolf with a faint, mocking smile.

“You’re nothing but a traitor. To your friends… and to me.”

Wu Heng approached, long blade in hand, and stopped beside the two fallen wolves. He could feel it—one was about to die, and the other wasn’t far behind.

He prodded each of them with the tip of his knife.

It was a pity, he thought, that the earth-type core Shang Moli had crushed without hesitation was gone.

Still, it wasn’t a total loss—her metal-type core was intact.

Dou Lu could make use of that.

When the boy began poking at her stomach with his blade, Shang Moli’s whole body tensed. She panted heavily.

“You win.”

Wu Heng was just about to smile when she added, “But don’t celebrate too soon—there are plenty stronger than you.”

Wu Heng didn’t look particularly pleased. “You’ve seen them?”

“…”

When Shang Moli fell silent, Wu Heng’s mood lifted a little. He crouched down, slender fingers pressing against the chest of the alpha wolf. That was when Shang Moli’s tone shifted—there was finally a trace of pleading in it.

“Let me go.”

Wu Heng’s hand paused. “What can you do for me?”

“Anything!”

“Be specific.”

“I’m a metal-type ability user—you’ve seen what I can do, right? I’m stronger than some of your teammates, aren’t I? I haven’t met them, but I have eaten one. He was… average. Keeping me, someone stronger, wouldn’t that be better for your group?” Shang Moli spoke quickly, her voice urgent as she watched his expression for any sign of change.

Wu Heng thought about it. “Du Yaoyuan is kind of average.”

He agreed, but his hand didn’t move away. The vines in his palm still coiled, restless, itching to strike.

“But it’s not up to me,” Wu Heng said again. Then, with his other hand, he brushed the soft fur on the wolf’s belly.

“So warm.”

The alpha wolf let out two panicked growls.

“So, you can’t decide whether to keep me, but killing me is your decision?!”

On that point, Wu Heng thought Shang Moli was overthinking things.

“The class monitor won’t be mad at me,” Wu Heng said with certainty.

Xie Chongyi only ever got angry for a short while—and never because Wu Heng killed or ate someone.

—————————————————————

Author’s Note:

Shang Moli: You’re just going to kill me like that?! Not even a little t*rture first?

Wu Heng: No need, no need.

Shang Moli: Recruit me!

Wu Heng: I’m not the one in charge.

Shang Moli: But killing me is your decision?!

Wu Heng: …Yeah.

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